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1987 Minnesota Vikings season

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1987 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachJerry Burns
Home fieldMetrodome
Results
Record8–7
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishWon NFC Wild Card Playoff (at Saints) 44–10
Won NFC Divisional Playoff (at 49ers) 36–24
Lost NFC Championship Game (at Redskins) 10–17

The 1987 Minnesota Vikings season was the team's 27th year in the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of eight wins and seven losses. The 1987 strike caused the cancellation of the September 27 game at the Kansas City Chiefs. The games played October 4, 11 and 18 were played with replacement players.

Despite finishing the season only one game over .500, and losing three of their final four games, Minnesota sneaked into the playoffs with the final Wild Card position. In the playoffs, the Vikings won two huge upsets, beating the 12–3 Saints and 13–2 49ers on the road. The Vikings were unable, however, to defeat the eventual Super Bowl champion Redskins in the NFC Championship Game.

Offseason

1987 Draft

Main article: 1987 NFL draft
=Pro Bowler
1987 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Choice Overall
1 14 14 D. J. Dozier Running Back Penn State from Dolphins[a]
16 16 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[a]
2 16 44 Ray Berry Linebacker Baylor
3 16 72 Henry Thomas Defensive Tackle Louisiana State
4 16 100 Reggie Rutland Cornerback Georgia Tech
5 16 128 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[a]
6 15 156 Greg Richardson Wide Receiver Alabama
7 16 184 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[b]
8 16 211 Rick Fenney Running Back Washington
9 16 239 Leonard Jones Defensive Back Texas Tech
10 16 267 Bob Riley Offensive Tackle Indiana State
11 16 295 Brent Pease Quarterback Montana
12 16 323 Keith Williams Defensive Tackle Florida
^[a] Minnesota traded their 1st round selection (16th overall) and 5th round selection (128th overall) to Miami to move up 2 spots and make this pick.

Personnel

Staff

1987 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Tom Batta


[1]

Final roster

1987 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics
 51 active, 2 inactive, 0 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance [1]
1 August 15 at New Orleans Saints L 17–23 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 52,884
2 August 22 Indianapolis Colts W 37–13 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,304
3 August 29 New England Patriots L 27–38 1–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,339
4 September 3 at Denver Broncos W 27–17 2–2 Mile High Stadium 74,081

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 13, 1987 Detroit Lions W 34–19 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,061
2 September 20, 1987 at Los Angeles Rams W 21–16 2–0 Anaheim Stadium 63,367
– September 27, 1987 at Kansas City Chiefs canceled 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium
3 October 4, 1987 Green Bay Packers L 16–23 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 13,911
4 October 11, 1987 at Chicago Bears L 7–27 2–2 Soldier Field 32,113
5 October 18, 1987 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–20 2–3 Tampa Stadium 20,850
6 October 26, 1987 Denver Broncos W 34–27 3–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,011
7 November 1, 1987 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–28 3–4 Kingdome 61,134
8 November 8, 1987 Los Angeles Raiders W 31–20 4–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,150
9 November 15, 1987 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–17 5–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 48,605
10 November 22, 1987 Atlanta Falcons W 24–13 6–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,866
11 November 26, 1987 at Dallas Cowboys W 44–38 (OT) 7–4 Texas Stadium 54,229
12 December 6, 1987 Chicago Bears L 24–30 7–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,331
13 December 13, 1987 at Green Bay Packers L 10–16 7–6 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,059
14 December 20, 1987 at Detroit Lions W 17–14 8–6 Silverdome 27,693
15 December 26, 1987 Washington Redskins L 24–27 (OT) 8–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,160

Note: The October 18 game against Tampa Bay was originally scheduled to be played in Minneapolis. The game was switched with the November 15 game due to Game 2 of the World Series. The game against the Broncos, originally scheduled for Sunday, October 25, was pushed back to Monday because the Metrodome was being used for Game 7 of the World Series.

Game summaries

Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys

Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Vikings 14 7 710644
Cowboys 0 14 1014038

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

Darrin Nelson's 24-yard touchdown run helped sealed the Vikings victory in an overtime thriller. It was the first time in 18 years the Vikings played on Thanksgiving.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(2) 11 4 0 .733 7–0 9–2 356 282 W1
Minnesota Vikings(5) 8 7 0 .533 3–5 6–6 336 335 L1
Green Bay Packers 5 9 1 .367 3–4 4–7 255 300 L2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 11 0 .267 3–4 4–9 286 360 L8
Detroit Lions 4 11 0 .267 2–5 4–7 269 384 W1

Playoffs

See also: 1987–88 NFL playoffs

Schedule

Playoff round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue
Wild Card January 3, 1988 at New Orleans Saints (4) W 44–10 1–0 Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Divisional January 9, 1988 at San Francisco 49ers (1) W 36–24 2–0 Candlestick Park
NFC Championship January 17, 1988 at Washington Redskins (3) L 10–17 2–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

NFC Wildcard Playoff Game

Minnesota Vikings 44, New Orleans Saints 10
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 10 21 31044
Saints 7 3 0010

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information
  • Scoring
    • NO – Martin 10 pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 7-0
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 42 NO 7-3
    • MIN – Carter 84 punt return (Nelson kick) MIN 10–7
    • MIN – Jordan 5 pass from Wilson (Nelson kick) MIN 17–7
    • MIN – Carter 10 pass from Rice (Nelson kick) MIN 24–7
    • NO – field goal Andersen 40 MIN 24–10
    • MIN – Jones 44 pass from Wilson (Nelson kick) MIN 31–10
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 42 MIN 34–10
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 19 MIN 37–10
    • MIN – Dozier 18 run (Nelson kick) MIN 44–10

In the Saints' first playoff game in history, the Vikings dominated the game by recording 2 sacks, forcing 4 turnovers, and allowing only 149 yards. The 34-point margin of victory stands as the most lop-sided win by an NFC team in a Wild Card round game in NFL history.

NFC Divisional Playoff Game

Minnesota Vikings 36, San Francisco 49ers 24
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 17 10636
49ers 3 0 14724

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

Game information
  • Scoring
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 21 MIN 3–0
    • SF – field goal Wersching 43 3–3
    • MIN – Hilton 7 pass from Wilson (Nelson kick) MIN 10–3
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 23 MIN 13–3
    • MIN – Mustafaa 45 interception return (Nelson kick) MIN 20–3
    • SF – Fuller 48 interception return (Wersching kick) MIN 20–10
    • MIN – Jones 5 pass from Wilson (Nelson kick) MIN 27–10
    • SF – Young 5 run (Wersching kick) MIN 27–17
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 40 MIN 30–17
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 40 MIN 33–17
    • SF – Frank 16 pass from Young (Wersching kick) MIN 33–24
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 23 MIN 36–24

The heavy underdog Vikings pull off a shocker in San Francisco. Controlling most of the game with Anthony Carter leading the way.

NFC Championship Game

Washington Redskins 17, Minnesota Vikings 10
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 7 0310
Redskins 7 0 3717

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Game information
  • Scoring
    • WAS – Bryant 42 pass from Williams (Haji-Sheikh kick) WAS 7–0
    • MIN – Lewis 23 pass from Wilson (Nelson kick) 7–7
    • WAS – field goal Haji-Sheikh 28 WAS 10–7
    • MIN – field goal Nelson 18 10–10
    • WAS – Clark 7 pass from Williams (Haji-Sheikh kick) WAS 17–10

In a defensive battle, the Redskins played a little better by limiting the Vikings to only 76 rushing yards and forcing 8 sacks. Washington scored first on a 98-yard drive that was capped by running back Kelvin Bryant's 42-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Doug Williams. However, Minnesota tied the game before halftime with quarterback Wade Wilson's 23-yard touchdown pass to Leo Lewis. In the third quarter, Redskins linebacker Mel Kaufman returned an interception 10 yards to the Minnesota 17-yard line to set up kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh's 28-yard field goal. In the final period, Vikings kicker Chuck Nelson made an 18-yard field goal to tie the game, 10–10. The Redskins then marched 70 yards to score on Williams' 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gary Clark to take the lead, 17–10, with 5:06 remaining in the game. Minnesota then advanced to the Washington 6-yard line, but Wilson's fourth down pass, intended for running back Darrin Nelson in the end zone was defended expertly by Darrell Green with 52 seconds remaining and the Redskins ran out the clock.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing Yards Wade Wilson 2,106
Passing Touchdowns Wade Wilson 14
Rushing Yards Darrin Nelson 642
Rushing Touchdowns D.J. Dozier
Wade Wilson		 5
Receiving Yards Anthony Carter 922
Receiving Touchdowns Anthony Carter 7
Points Chuck Nelson 75
Kickoff Return Yards Neal Guggemos 808
Punt Return Yards Leo Lewis 275
Tackles Jesse Solomon 126
Sacks Chris Doleman 11.0
Interceptions Joey Browner 6
Forced Fumbles Chris Doleman 6

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing Offense 2,826 Yards 176.6 YPG 20th
Rushing Offense 1,983 Yards 123.9 YPG 11th
Total Offense 4,809 Yards 300.6 YPG 15th
Passing Defense 3,100 Yards 193.8 YPG 16th
Rushing Defense 1,724 Yards 107.8 YPG 11th
Total Defense 4,824 Yards 301.8 YPG 10th

References

  1. ^ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
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